Bay Area’s largest city won’t be closing streets as Oakland, San Francisco and others have

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People ride their bicycles down Jackson Street during Viva CalleSJ in San Jose, Calif., on Sunday, Sep. 22, 2019. Each year's event opens upwards of six miles of streets, through some of San Jose's most iconic neighborhoods for people to come out and play for the day. It's a way to encourage physical activity, safe streets for walking and biking, and a sense of community. (Randy Vazquez/Bay Area News Group)

Pedestrians cross Kirkham Street in San Francisco onTuesday, April 21, 2020. It is one of the streets listed in the city's new Slow Streets Program intended to help residents exercise while maintaining social distancing. (Karl Mondon/Bay Area News Group)

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A closure sign is photographed on Versailles Avenue on Thursday, April 30, 2020, in Alameda, Calif. The city of Alameda is instituting a temporary "soft" closure of select streets to provide more space for physical distancing and physical activity for the duration of the Bay Area shelter in place order. (Aric Crabb/Bay Area News Group)

Pedestrians walk down Versailles Avenue on Thursday, April 30, 2020, in Alameda, Calif. The city of Alameda is instituting a temporary "soft" closure of select streets to provide more space for physical distancing and physical activity for the duration of the Bay Area shelter in place order. (Aric Crabb/Bay Area News Group)

A street closure sign is posted along East 16th Street between Fruitvale Avenue and Foothill Boulevard as part of the "Oakland Slow Streets" temporary project in Oakland, Calif., on Saturday, April 11, 2020. Oakland Slow Streets is an emergency measure by Mayor Libby Schaaf in which 74 miles of the city's streets are off-limits to thru traffic, allowing residents more space to walk, bike and run during the coronavirus shutdown. (Ray Chavez/Bay Area News Group)

Several Bay Area cities — including Oakland, San Francisco, San Mateo and Redwood City — made headlines recently by announcing street closures during the shelter-in-place order forced by the coronavirus pandemic. The biggest reasons are to allow more space for people to walk, run and bike while staying appropriately distant from each other and to slow down speeding drivers taking advantage of emptier streets.

But don’t expect San Jose to join their ranks anytime soon.

In a response to the Silicon Valley Bicycle Coalition, which had written to the city about creating a safer environment for cyclists and pedestrians, San Jose Director of Transportation John Ristow said the city engaged with Oakland city staff to understand how they implemented their plan and what resources that required.

“Together with the feedback of our Police Department and Parks and Recreational Services Department, we are not pursuing street closures at this time,” Ristow said. “In neighborhoods, residents are generally able to get outside to stretch without violating the required physical distance.”

That initially struck me as a bit ironic for the Bay Area’s most populous and most residential city, which has turned over slices of its traffic lanes to bikes throughout the city and twice a year shuts down miles of streets to motorized traffic for the Viva CalleSJ “open streets” event.

But reading between the lines and knowing how much of an effort it is for San Jose to close streets for Viva CalleSJ, the city’s response makes sense. No one knows how long this situation will last, and Oakland and San Francisco made big announcements with dozens of miles attached — but have started slowly with just a few miles at a time. In San Jose, places where it would be easier to close streets — like Market Street around Plaza de Cesar Chavez downtown — wouldn’t help much because there’s already open space and wide sidewalks there. And in tighter neighborhoods where it would be more beneficial, residents are still going to need their cars to shop for groceries or commute to essential jobs.

Police officers might be needed to make sure the cars using the streets are really local traffic — and if you think drivers would just obey signs, you should count the parade of cars that drive on the sidewalk to bypass a physical barrier at the end of my street.

San Jose, however, did implement two other policies: automating pedestrian signal-call buttons in the downtown core to make them contact free and eliminating green signal progression timing throughout the city to discourage drivers from picking up speed along empty streets. The city is also pushing out safety messages via social media to make sure drivers stay aware of the increased numbers of pedestrians and bikes on our streets these days.

There is potentially good news on the horizon, too. The city is in the final stages of work on its Bike Plan 2025 and it has Vision Zero pedestrian safety recommendations still to implement. Following the more permanent recommendations in those plans in the very near future makes more sense than experimenting with a temporary fix. In the meantime, residents looking for extra space will have to be satisfied by San Jose’s 200-plus parks and miles of bike lanes and trails.

SILENT(ER) NIGHTS: Not to veer too deep into my colleague Mr. Roadshow’s lane, but there was a chorus of complaints after the city put the pedestrian crosswalk signals on auto pilot last month. The audio signal that accompanies the “walk” sign — to help visually impaired pedestrians know when to cross — was sounding every time the lights changed in both directions all night long.

Colin Hayne, the public information manager for the city’s department of transportation, said that in response to complaints, the city now has the automatic signal operating only between 7 a.m. and 10 p.m. at two downtown intersections (Park and Delmas avenues; and Second and San Fernando streets) that are close to residential units. The signal will still sound if someone uses the pedestrian button after hours, but people living nearby should be sleeping more soundly now. Anyone else with issues can email requests to traffic.signals@sanjoseca.gov.

Rich Santoro’s bulb garden in San Jose, shown here in 2017, wasn’t open for public viewing this year because of Santa Clara County’s shelter-in-place order. (Photo by James Sakane) James Sakane/Fremont Bulletin

GARDEN PARTY, VIRTUAL EDITION: As promised, Rich “The Bulb Guy” Santoro has posted — with the help of his sister, Joyce — a YouTube video tour of his backyard bulb garden in San Jose. Of course, the colorful 2.5-minute virtual tour is set to the song, “Tiptoe Through the Tulips.”

“The only thing missing is the smell of the freesia and the feeling of spring in the air,” said Santoro, who added that he’s starting work on a coffee table book, “2020: The Bulb Guy Garden Nobody Saw,” with photos and the funny stories he tells when showing the garden.

Of course, he was disappointed that he was unable to show off his garden to the public this year. But he was astounded by the generosity of people who couldn’t visit but donated anyway to “A Rainbow for Boom,” his fundraising campaign for St. Jude’s Children’s Hospital dedicated to his son, who died of a childhood disease at age 6 in 1982. As of early this week, more than $3,300 had been raised.

You can still donate by going to www.the-bulbguy.com for details, and in the meantime, enjoy the video by searching for “The Bulb Guy’s Garden 2020” on YouTube.

GIVE EARLY, GIVE OFTEN: If you hadn’t heard yet, May 5 has been designated Giving Tuesday Now, a global day of philanthropy when those who have the resources are being reminded to donate to nonprofits, schools and other groups that have been economically hobbled by the coronavirus pandemic and shelter-in-place orders.

Because the devastation has been so wide-ranging, you might want to look beyond your favorite charities, and if you just can’t pick, you can always donate to the Silicon Valley Strong campaign at www.siliconvalleystrong.org. The regularly scheduled Giving Tuesday still will take place the first Tuesday after Thanksgiving, which this year will be Dec. 1.

And while you’re in a giving mood, consider this: Tuesday is also Cinco de Mayo. Instead of cooking at home, why not order lunch or dinner from one of your favorite locally owned Mexican restaurants, which have been struggling to survive along with the rest of the state’s eateries. That way you’re covered for both Cinco de Mayo and Takeout Tuesday.

Sal Pizarro has written the Around Town column for The Mercury News since 2005. His column covers the people and events surrounding the cultural scene in Silicon Valley. In addition, he writes Cocktail Chronicles, a feature column on Silicon Valley bars and nightclubs.

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